I think, and I am sure others may agree with me, that better moderation is needed in the OSS forum. OSS is perhaps the main forum on here where fanboiism, fundamentalism and arrogance all come togeteher, personfied by certain users.

There is a very poor quality to most of the posts, with Linux is L337, death to windoze! etc occupying most of the forum. Perhaps some sort of special rules, or an addition to the general rules tha would benifit everybody, or something!

The OSS forum, like most forum on here, are where it should be possible to have a mature discussion, where at least some knowledge should be required to join in on discussions, at least opposed to baseless spamming and FUD.

This post will probably get me flamed to high hell, but I would hope there are a few others who feel the same way, and might have better suggestions than my own.

----- Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

I haven't seen anything in that forum section that I would expect a moderator to take note of and potentially intervene/issue warnings.

Unprovoked personal attacks are about it, aside from posting porn/warez that will get a mods attention. Being a dumbarse isn't considered a crime, nor is strong opinions/arrogance/ignorance/fanboyism.

You'll notice a very high number of threads relating to Ubuntu, 3D gfx card drivers, dual monitors, and other very GUI-esque things, and very few posts about compiling stuff, shell help, discussion about new filesystems/drivers/kernel features/etc. That should give you an idea of the kind of users this forum as a whole, and that particular area attracts.

The best you can really do is start more threads yourself if you think there are topics worth discussing, topics that you think might bring the more intelligent users out of hiding, and use the Report to Moderators button if you think someone is crossing the line.

----- "Grandfather had an accident, he got burnt." "Oh no, how bad?" "Well, they don't fuck around at the crematorium."

If you have a problem with a post, RTM it. People post what they feel, and pretending that the OSS section should somehow be any different is just foolish. People post their views. You can always not post in threads that you don't like. A novel approach I know, but some people seem to manage, instead of complaining about every little thing, and following others around just to constantly attack their views.

Edited by Midnighter: 8/8/2008 3:02:04 AM

----- Be careful with people. Try to live your life without hurting, without abusing, or shattering or betraying. -In a war, there are no good guys, and no bad guys. There are only opposing forces.

It's one thing to post what you feel, or an opinion. It is another to reiterate that point over and over again, and force your views on others. No one said anything about complaining and constantly attacking views, so try to stay on topic.

----- Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

Because it is a poor work around to something that should be fixed in the first place. As the mods will be the first to say, they can't be everywhere at once. Why not make it easier on them by having some guidelines? There must have been a reason the programming forum had guidelines implemented, and with your logic, it isnt necessary. And yet someone thought it was.

----- Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

Not so much rules, as guidelines. And in some instances, like in the OSS forum, more regulation would be a positive thing. I guess I don't really see making a post and having it stickied and at least suggesting it might be a good way to post as more complicated. In fact it would make the website less complicated if it would reduce the drivel and confusion.

----- Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

Quote by TheSecretThe OSS forum, like most forum on here, are where it should be possible to have a mature discussion, where at least some knowledge should be required to join in on discussions, at least opposed to baseless spamming and FUD.

Why? There are actually some users on here who have learned a lot by lurking in the tech forums and by asking a few simple, if not noobish questions... why should anyone have to have that prior knowledge before entering a discussion? You cannot curb learning and those forums are where most of it happens.

----- Quote by mm80xsomeone get this guy a condom...he may need to be square rooted

That was a bad explanation on my part. I have nothing against asking questions, no matter how elementary. There are areas I know almost nothing about, and asking elementary questions as well, I don't think it is a bad thing. It is in fact a very excellent thing, which should be encouraged.

What I have a problem with is a willful ignorance, and arrogance enough to push views on others, without knowing the entire picture. It causes frustration and arguments, and is altogether a waste of time. It just seems like that forum in particular has been full of that lately.

----- Part of the inhumanity of the computer is that, once it is competently programmed and working smoothly, it is completely honest.

That was a bad explanation on my part. I have nothing against asking questions, no matter how elementary. There are areas I know almost nothing about, and asking elementary questions as well, I don't think it is a bad thing. It is in fact a very excellent thing, which should be encouraged.

Yeah fair enough, I see your point.

Quote by TheSecret

What I have a problem with is a willful ignorance, and arrogance enough to push views on others, without knowing the entire picture. It causes frustration and arguments, and is altogether a waste of time. It just seems like that forum in particular has been full of that lately.

That forum in particular? Lol... when hasn't any forum been hit by the pedants and fanbois?

----- Quote by mm80xsomeone get this guy a condom...he may need to be square rooted

Quote by TheSecretWhy not make it easier on them by having some guidelines? There must have been a reason the programming forum had guidelines implemented, and with your logic, it isnt necessary. And yet someone thought it was. They're not really guidelines. That's a post someone made, probably after getting annoyed like yourself and hoping to raise the bar a little bit in terms of what's expected and what those posting should aim for.

The post has been recognised as worthwhile and sticky'd, but that's by no means official sanctioning.

That said, you should feel free to make something similar in the OSS forum. If you get a positive response, then you can likely request that it be sticky'd.

But I really think that it's a lost cause, and you can't really compare it to the programming forum. There's a certain degree of advocacy that's expected/encouraged amongst the open-source community. Sometimes it crosses the line from well-earned praise to into fanboy lovefest. That's just the way it goes, and the best thing you can do is either butt-out and leave them to it, or try and rationally point out why they may be wrong.

And people don't like being told they're wrong, especially fanboys. Generally it's better to say "Sorry, I'm going to beg to differ, ..." instead of "You're wrong." This is something I need to work on myself.

----- "Grandfather had an accident, he got burnt." "Oh no, how bad?" "Well, they don't fuck around at the crematorium."